UK to sue Iceland over billions of Euros

The United Kingdom announced that it would likely sue Iceland over billions of Euros that was loaned after its economic downturn, a top British government minister said Sunday, according to CNN.

The case would be brought to international court after Iceland voted to repeal the act to payback the loans from the UK.

The British government has "an obligation to get that money back, and we will continue to pursue that until we do," said Danny Alexander, the chief secretary of the Treasury told CNN.

According to Scotsman.com, the settlement would have seen the money paid back over a 30-year period, starting in 2016 and finishing in 2046.

Iceland held a vote over the weekend on the settlement plan, but with about 90 precent of the vote counted, 59.1 precent were against and 40.9 precent in favor, reported BBC.

Johanna Sigurdardottir, Iceland's Prime Minister, said the rejection meant "the worst option was chosen" and had split the country in two, he told BBC reporters.

The legal battle over the money may take a year to be decided. Many including Prime Minister Sigurdardottir think that it may take longer.

"My estimate is that the process will take a year, a year and a half at least," he said

The repayment plan became a source of contention with the Icelandic people because many thought that it unless the country is legally required to give the money back it shouldn't. The repayment plan may put too much burden on Iceland's recovering economy, which the citizens may not be able to shoulder.

"I think it's very hard to interpret this in any other way than the fact that the Icelandic people are not prepared to accept payments or shoulder the burden unless there is a clear legal obligation to do so." Prime Minister Sugurdardottir said to BBC news.